Pandebonos (Colombian Yuca Cheese Bread)
Pandebonos are a traditional Colombian type of bread. They are salty and chewy, made primarily out of tapioca (yuca) starch and a salty fresh cheese called queso costeño. Here you will find a traditional recipe and a variation that is called pandebono con bocadillo (pandebono stuffed with guava paste). Pandebonos are delicious for breakfast or as a snack. This recipe is naturally gluten-free.
Ingredients
- 80 gram tapioca starch (also known as tapioca flour/ yuca starch/ almidón de yuca)
- 2 heaped tablespoons cornstarch (maizena)
- 250 gram queso costeño, finely grated (see notes for a link of a recipe that uses feta cheese and queso fresco as a replacement)
- 1 egg, whisked
- milk, as necessary (about 3 tablespoons)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (400 Fahrenheit). Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Mix tapioca starch, cornstarch, and grated cheese together in a large mixing bowl
- Add the whisked egg and knead the dough with your hands
- Add milk spoon by spoon. Knead well so the cheese is fully incorporated. Shape into a ball.The exact amount of milk depends on how wet the cheese is and the size of the egg. You want a homogeneous mixture, that does not crumble, but it can't be overly wet
- Divide the dough into 5 balls, and place them on the baking sheet with enough space in between
- Bake at 200 degrees Celsius (400 Fahrenheit) for 20-25 minutes, until they have some color at the top
Notes
- Tapioca starch and tapioca flour are the same product. In different countries the product necessary to make these pandebonos has different names. With tapioca starch/flour, you will always have the right product. In many countries cassava flour is something else, for a more elaborate explanation see below. In Colombia, I buy almidón the yuca.
- Feta cheese is a good replacement for queso costeño, because they are both salty cheeses. Check out this recipe if you can't find queso costeño.
- It is important to make firm balls. This prevents them from losing their shape. It can happen that they lose their shape a bit anyway, and turn out flatter than in the pictures. Mostly that has to do with the type of cheese and how wet the dough is. If you don't want to take the risk of them losing their ball/dome-like shape, place the balls of dough in a muffin tin.
- They are best eaten on the same day.
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